When Japanese Canadians
immigrated to Canada they encountered racism and discrimination. B.C.
politicians had long been trying to rid their province and Canada
of the Japanese minority. When World War II broke out and Japan attacked
Pearl Harbour and Hong Kong, they finally had an excuse to do so.
Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes and into internment
camps because they were considered a threat to "national security."
In fact, the removal order was opposed at the time by Canada's senior
military and police officers who stated that Japanese Canadians posed
no such threat. And no Japanese Canadian was ever charged with disloyalty
to Canada.

It wasn't until 1988
that the Canadian government redressed the wrongs suffered by Japanese
Canadians during WWII. At the time, polls showed that 63% of Canadians
supported redress and 45% favoured individual compensation.